14 DAY TRIAL // We all like to listen to the birds' chirping, but little do we know that at that exact moment they might be warning each other regarding some predator, having a quarrel or maybe even trying to pick up a female.
Citing an "unsuspected level of complexity and sophistication in avian alarm calls," researchers have concluded that the chickadee's familiar call varies with the size of a potential predator.
According to the study, in the case of the chickadee, larger means less dangerous, because this kind of predators such as great horned owls and gyrfalcons are apparently deemed lesser threats to the petite songbirds because of their ungainliness. But predators that are closer to the size of the chickadee, as for example saw-whet owls or northern pygmy-owls can lead sentinel chickadees to repeat the "D" note or syllable of their calls, in order to call for backup - something like "Hey you guys, need some help, get over here".
Chickadees have several calls at their disposal. Their high-frequency "seet" call warns of danger in the air, while the "chick-a-dee" call, depending on the context, can cue other birds about food, identity or predators that have perched too close for comfort.
"Certainly, what we're seeing is one of the most sophisticated alarm call systems that's been discovered," said Christopher Templeton, a graduate student at the University of Washington who completed the research for his masters thesis while at the University of Montana.
The research joins a growing number of studies that suggest birds use complex communications and tools. Studies have shown that birds dream, rehearse their songs and have regional dialects.
"I guess the take-home message is this is probably true of many animals. Many animals communicate much more sophisticated information than we realize because we are not in a position to understand their language," said Templeton.